Bottas on Abu Dhabi pole

The Mercedes pair dominated the session and it was the Finn that was 0.172 seconds quicker than Hamilton, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel 0.546 seconds off the pace in third spot.

Bottas was quickest from the blocks, setting the best times on the early laps but four-time world champion Hamilton responded in the middle part of the session and was on course to displace him only to lose out in the final part of his last lap.

Bottas was delighted with his effort in qualifying and is now 5/4 to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.

"It was a very clean session and I managed to find time every run," Bottas said. "The car was feeling much better than any point of the weekend and that allowed me to work on the details."

Hamilton praised Bottas' effort whilst vowing to give his all in Sunday's race to end the season on the best possible note.

"What a lap," Hamilton said. "He had an incredible qualifying. Congratulations to him. It was the last qualifying of the year and I gave it everything.

"Ultimately winning the championship is the one. Now it is about trying to finish on a high. Having a one-two is great and that's the goal. If we are able to finish minimum where we're starting, it's going to be a good result."

Hamilton is 1/1 to win on Sunday, while Vettel is a 7/1 chance to overhaul the Mercedes pair.

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